While it may seem like this is the case, there are universities that are taking real steps towards embracing the new ed-tech options that currently grace many primary and secondary classrooms across the UK.

One of the first to pioneer the “connected” approach is the University of Birmingham, where a third of the university's 28,000 students now study through smartphones, tablets and via social media platforms; opening up new modes of communication between students and lecturers.

Far from being intimidated by the new virtual learning environment (VLE), John Heath, pro-vice chancellor for estates and infrastructure at the university, says there has been a “seamless transition with academic staff”.

“We set up an extensive training support programme when we were doing the migration,” he says. “However, the feedback we received was that the training wasn’t needed.”

The technology offered by the university includes a new VLE, where course materials can be accessed on a module by module basis, allowing lecturers to link to external resources and interact with their students online. Video and podcast caption for lectures across the whole institution has also recently been introduced.

Furthermore, assignments can be electronically uploaded onto the VLE, speeding up the cycle of marking and feedback, which can also be completed online.

“From an IT perspective, our intention at this institution is to try and be slightly ahead of the curve,” says John. “In part because we want to have a better pedagogy offer and in part because we want to enthuse our student community … 97 per cent of whom have a smart phone.”

The new virtual learning system, introduced to Birmingham University by Canvas, is also present in Wolsey Hall Oxford, Henley Business School and Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design, which opened in April 2013.

Jared Stein, author of The Essentials for Blended Learning and VP of Research and Education for Canvas, says there are a number of benefits to having these learning environments in universities, especially in terms of increased flexibility.

“The flexibility is really in terms of time and space,” says Jared. “Participants in a course don’t have to be in the same place at the same time.

“We can now look towards a new audience of students,” he continues, “those that haven’t got the time to attend traditional modules.”

Although it seems that there could be a danger of losing the face to face interaction – something students could rightly take issue with, especially considering the increase in tuition fees – John stresses the importance of these pedagogical methods working hand in hand.

“There is something to be said for good, old fashioned conversation, both with your peers and with your educators,” he says. “There is something about being at university that I don’t think can be replaced by this medium. This is simply giving people more opportunity to engage: you have to look at these tools as complementary.”

Jared sees the chance to experiment with teaching methods as part of “the beauty of the blended learning model.”

“Instructors get the opportunity to review how students are performing during the course of the module. This information allows lecturers to experiment with technology, by replacing some part of the face to face experience with online activities,” he says.

“If it works, fantastic, but if it doesn’t, you go back and you resituate that course element in the face to face environment.”

One thing that has proved incredibly popular at Birmingham is lecture recording, John says.

“What’s interesting is that this does not deter students from actually attending lectures,” he adds. “They use the recordings as an aide-mémoire revision tool.”

Agreeing in part with Lord Puttnam, John says that, although some academics can be “quite conservative in terms of their attitude to change and innovation”, there has also been a lot of interest from other institutions and, furthermore, an “enthusiastic buy-in from staff and students”.

“Mobiles are an intrinsic part of every student’s life,” he says, “so you don’t want to offer something that is going to remain the same. You want a product that is capable of changing in response to the external environment.

“The VLE works across all platforms,” he continues, “That’s a feature that students find very attractive.”